SATURDAY: Umber Sleeping at Hell’s Kitchen

By Rev. Adam McKinney on June 3, 2011

IT'S CALLED ODDIO >>>

With James Jenkins of Mama Loves Daddy moving to Portland; the increasing irregularity of Drug Purse and Paris Spleen shows; the switch ideologically and title-wise from the Elephants to the Nightgowns; and with lots of people just getting their shit together-it seems as if the last vestige of the dirtbag, Tacoma-centric, Team Unicorn Records spirit is being maintained by Umber Sleeping. It was by way of Team Unicorn Records and adjacent bands (like Umber Sleeping) that I was first introduced to local music. At the time, Tacoma seemed littered with Carlo Rossi jugs, hand-rolled cigarettes, banged-up NES systems and Free Design record albums. Nowadays, the shows aren't as unhinged, the people aren't as reckless or snobby, the stakes for partying aren't as high and the repercussions aren't as monumental.

But Umber Sleeping (and yeah, they were called Follow the Kites for a second; more on that later) still have that smoky air about them. With every introduction Umber Sleeping frontman Peter Tietjen makes about the next song being about Three's Company or He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, I feel a tiny kick in the back of my head from a phantom swig of Carlo Rossi. Every stab from a buzzing synthesizer makes me feel like I'm waiting outside a convenience store for my older friend to come back with cigarettes.

To read Rev. Adam McKinney's full article click here.

[Hell's Kitchen, Oddio with Umber Sleeping with Fields Without Fences, Goldwing, Not From Brooklyn, Saturday, June 4, 8 p.m., $5, 928 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.6003]